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Windows 10 licensing question

deathnote666deathnote666 Registered User regular
in Help / Advice Forum
Previously, I had a PC that shipped with win 8.0 basic/home that was latter replaced with 8.1 pro. This PC was upgraded to win 10 Pro during the free upgrade period. When the HDD was replaced, and a fresh install of win 10 was done, it loaded with win 10 home/basic. Microsoft gave me a key to upgrade the install to Pro.

I have another PC that has win 10 home/basic that needs a new HDD. This was upgraded from 8.1 home/basic during the free upgrade period. Can I use that same key to get win 10 Pro on this PC or can it only use win 10 basic/home without a new, paid key?

These 2 PC's were probably in the same shipment and have the same 8.0 home/basic key assigned to them.

Thanks!

Posts

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited May 2018
    deathnote666 wrote: »
    Previously, I had a PC that shipped with win 8.0 basic/home that was latter replaced with 8.1 pro. This PC was upgraded to win 10 Pro during the free upgrade period. When the HDD was replaced, and a fresh install of win 10 was done, it loaded with win 10 home/basic. Microsoft gave me a key to upgrade the install to Pro.

    I have another PC that has win 10 home/basic that needs a new HDD. This was upgraded from 8.1 home/basic during the free upgrade period. Can I use that same key to get win 10 Pro on this PC or can it only use win 10 basic/home without a new, paid key?

    These 2 PC's were probably in the same shipment and have the same 8.0 home/basic key assigned to them.

    Thanks!
    The keys are usually tied to the hardware configuration, when I replaced motherboards I had to call Microsoft to get a new key.

    That was with windows 7, but I feel like it is likely to be similar with windows 10. However you should be able to go from 8 to 10 for free anyways. I thought MS was just upgrading folks for free these days.

    zepherin on
  • bowenbowen Sup? Registered User regular
    Windows 10 is even more tightly linked to hardware than 7 was. You'll need new keys. You can also use Windows 8 keys for a fresh Windows 10 install last I knew. But if all you have is the home key you'll need to reach out to MS.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    That being said Microsoft's tech support was super great, quick and professional. It was maybe a 7 minute phone call from beginning to resolution.

  • deathnote666deathnote666 Registered User regular
    The PC retained the win 10 keys they had after a HDD replace so that wasn't enough to force a change in keys by itself.

    So the consensus is to take to Microsoft and see if they'll provide a key to up the version from win 10 home/basic to win 10 Pro?

    Thanks!

  • Jebus314Jebus314 Registered User regular
    I don't see why they would do this. Pretty sure the free windows 10 upgrade was only for the same kind (home to home or pro to pro). The reason they gave you the upgraded key previously was probably because they could identify your laptop as previously having Pro on their servers, which you only had because you upgraded to windows 8 pro before upgrading to windows 10. But might as well call and see what they say.

    I also don't understand what you mean when you say two laptops had the same key. I'm pretty sure every instance of windows (even if it is OEM from a laptop manufacturer who bought in bulk) is a unique key. So each laptop should have it's own key, unless it is a volume license, which needs access to a licensing server. You generally can not use OEM keys on multiple devices (probably the same rules for a key Microsoft gave you to facilitate an upgrade). Sometimes retail keys would specifically allow windows to be installed on two or three different devices, but I'm not sure if that is still a thing.

    "The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it" - Dr Horrible
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor Registered User regular
    For the last several months I have been operating under the impression that Windows 10 doesn't actually require you to purchase/register it; it just asks.

    Am I mistaken?

  • VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    ArbitraryDescriptor wrote: »
    For the last several months I have been operating under the impression that Windows 10 doesn't actually require you to purchase/register it; it just asks.

    Am I mistaken?

    There are some more or less inconsequential features that don't work if it's unregistered, but otherwise not so far as I can tell.

  • deathnote666deathnote666 Registered User regular
    I just replaced the HDD. I was able to activate win 10 pro with a win 8.1 pro key.

    Thanks for the replies!

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